South Burlington man pleads not guilty to kidnapping, sexual assault

Oct. 22, 2013

Written by

Elizabeth Murray

Free Press Staff Writer

A South Burlington man is facing charges for allegedly kidnapping and sexually assaulting a woman on Monday evening in Burlington.

Ralph Desmarais, 34, pleaded not guilty in Vermont Superior Court in Burlington on Tuesday to charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and attempting to bribe the woman to perform sexual acts by offering her marijuana.

Burlington Police Officer Neil Carey wrote in a court affidavit that he was approached by the victim in City Hall Park Monday evening. She told him that she had been sexually assaulted earlier in the evening by Desmarais.

The Burlington Free Press does not name victims of alleged sexual crimes without their consent.

According to the victim, Desmarais had overheard her say she was homeless, so he offered her a place to stay, Carey wrote. The victim asked Desmarais if she could bring her hearing-impaired male friend along, but Desmarais would not allow it, according to the affidavit.

After accepting Desmarais’s offer, the victim got into his car and they drove toward Desmarais’s home at the Liberty Inn on Shelburne Road, according to the affidavit. The victim told Carey that Desmarais began to touch her inappropriately during the drive and ignored her multiple requests for him to stop.

“While she and Desmarais were alone in the car, he told her that she would have to pay for the room with sex,” Carey wrote in the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, the victim continually asked to be let out of the car for most of the car ride, but Desmarais refused to stop the car and even locked the doors.

After 10 minutes, Desmarais let the victim out again near City Hall Park, where she began to receive text messages from him, according to the affidavit. Desmarais offered the victim a place to stay and an ounce of marijuana in exchange for sexual acts, but she rejected these offers, Carey wrote.

Eventually Desmarais relented and offered the victim a place to stay for nothing in return, the affidavit states.

Burlington police arrested Desmarais after locating his car being driven east of the Winooski traffic circle, according to court papers.

In an interview at the police station, Desmarais told Carey that he had offered the victim a place to stay and marijuana in exchange for sexual acts, but that he had been joking, Carey wrote in the affidavit.

Desmarais also denied groping the victim and denied refusing to let her out of the car, according to the affidavit.

“He advised that he was going to allow [the victim] a place to stay because he is a kind person and would never actually accept sex from her because he is a married man with five children,” Carey wrote. “Desmarais felt that he was being set up simply because he would not allow [the victim’s] male friend a place to stay.”

Desmarais also pleaded not guilty in May for allegedly issuing several bad checks and not following through on payment plans.

Desmarais is being held for lack of $2,000 bail at the Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans Town. His next court appearance will be 10:30 a.m. Nov. 19 for a status hearing.